Gone
by Mild Misanthrope
Summary: Ichigo realizes how empty his life would be without Rukia, but is it already too late? No Character Death! IchiRuki!


Gone

By Anime FanGirl-Chan

**Word Count: **1,000

**A/N:** Thank you for taking time to read my Story. This is my first Bleach Fan Fiction posted here, so I'm looking for Constructive Criticism. I'd really appreciated it you left a review and told me what you thought about it, and give me suggestions. With that said, let's start!

*

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled, while he ran as fast as he could over to her. He ignored the throbbing pain in his head and the intense sting from his still-bleeding wound.

Once he got to her, she was already on the floor, and a pool of blood forming around her. Her eyes were closing, and blood ran down from the edges of her mouth, indicating she was coughing blood.

"Ichi…go…" she managed to whisper, her voice was weak and hoarse.

Her heart was beating slowly and weakly. Each minute that passed, breathing was harder for her.

_Ba-bum…Ba-bum…Ba-bum…. _

"Rukia," this time he whispered in disbelief. He felt something slide down his face, and realized he was crying.

"Rukia!" he screamed, Rukia's eyes were almost closed.

"Don't leave me!" he yelled, gently putting his hand under her head, and lifting it up.

"Please…" he pleaded, lowering his face.

Rukia felt her body shut down. Her gaze got darker and blurrier, making it hard to identify her surroundings. Everything around her vanished. Everything except Ichigo.

She would still hear him calling out her name.

She resisted the urge to close her eyes. She fought the thought of giving up.

"Rukia!!!" Ichigo snapped.

Ba-bum…...Ba-bum………….Ba-bum…..

This was not happening. I couldn't.

"Kurosaki-kun…" he heard a soft whisper from behind him.

"Inue, you can heal her, right? She'll be okay, right?" he asked, holding to the little hope left.

He wouldn't let this happen. He'd make sure Rukia wouldn't die. He promised Rukia that he'd protect her, and he wasn't going to break his promise.

Inue looked at him sadly, but she nodded.

"I'll do what I can." she said, placing her hand above Rukia's torso were fresh blood still seeped out.

Her hands glowed a bright blue, and she closed her eyes for concentration.

"Ichigo really cares for her." she thought sadly.

"I'm sure Rukia feels the same way." she added, tears formed in her eyes, and a single tear ran down her face.

This made Ichigo worry.

Inue shook those thoughts out of her head, and concentrated on healing the Raven-haired girl in front of her.

_Ba-bum……Ba-bum….._

She tightened her eyes, and the bright-blue glow grew bigger.

"She won't make it; Even if I heal her in time, she's lost to much blood. And if somehow she managed to survive she wouldn't last more than a day at most." she thought hopelessly.

She was also pained by her friends condition, but she couldn't lie to herself.

"No. Rukia is strong. I trust her. I know she'll make it. If not for herself, for Ichigo. I know it." she added.

The glow grew even bigger, and slightly brighter.

Ba-bum……………………………

Inue could feel her energy being drained from her body. She felt herself weaken.

She took a glance at Ichigo.

He looked so worried.

Rukia was in terrible condition, and anyone else would've given up already, yet, he had hope that somehow Rukia would survive.

She really admired that about him. He was the most hopeful person she'd ever met.

She let out another tear slide down her face.

Her gaze shifted from Ichigo to Rukia, who lay in front of her.

The wound had closed rather well, but not completely. She was still bleeding heavily.

"Rukia… please… make Ichigo happy." she told herself, another tear slid down her face.

She took a lung-full of air, and shut her eyes tightly.

The glow grew even brighter and bigger.

Ichigo looked at Rukia with a saddened expression on his face.

He stroked her hair lightly.

He was such a fool. He was so caught up in fighting Azien that he forgot about Rukia and she got hurt because of his carelessness.

He should've protected her. If he did, she'd still be okay.

He'd never do it again. Once Rukia got better, he'd never let her out of his sight. He'd protect her every winking moment, and he'd never let anything happen to her.

As he stared at her motionless body, he realized just how much she meant to him.

She wasn't just an annoying, chappy-loving midget, she was much more.

She was the person he most cherished.

She was the person he would give his life up just to protect her.

She was the person who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with;

And when she woke up, he'd tell her.

Inue was extremely tired, one could easily notice. She was sweating, and panting.

Inue's eyes shot open. The wound was completely closed.

She put her head on top of Rukia's chest, hoping to sense her heart beat.

That sound had never seemed so soothing, Inue sighted in relief, heart beat.

………………….Ba-bum….Ba-bum…Ba-bum

It was weak, but it was there, she'd be okay.

She glanced over to Ichigo, and smiled weakly.

Ichigo felt so relieved.

He began to stroke Rukia's hair again, smiling once he noticed the rise and fall of her chest.

She moaned.

"Rukia?' he whispered.

Slowly, Rukia fluttered her eyes open, and smiled weakly at Ichigo.

Before she would say anything, Ichigo held her in a tight, yet gentle embrace.

Rukia gasped, but then her eyes softened.

"Don't ever scare me like that again." Ichigo told her, still not letting her go, as if she'd vanish if he didn't.

"Ichigo…" she whispered.

For a moment, they forgot about everything. All they knew was that they were finally safe and in each other's arms and that was all that mattered.

Another tear slid down Inue's face, but not one of sadness. It was one of joy. Even if Ichigo and herself could never be together, she knew he'd be happy; and she felt happy for them.


End file.
